Ancient Romans GODS & GODDESSES

[Pages:22]Ancient Romans

GODS & GODDESSES

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ANCIENT ROMANS

GODS & GODDESSES

Romans worshiped gods and goddesses as part of the everyday life. The actions of gods explained things they didn't understand or couldn't control. If there was a lightning storm, it was because Jupiter was throwing lightning. If the army lost a battle, it was because they had lost favor with Mars, god of war.

SACRIFICES

Animal sacrifices were made to gain favor with the gods. Mars, god of war, decided who won in war so Roman soldiers would pray to Mars before a battle and sometimes Roman commanders would sacrifice an animal to Mars.

TEMPLES

One of the ways Romans worshiped their gods was to build temples. Most temples were dedicated to just one god or goddess but some were built for many gods. This type of temple was called a pantheon. Romans believed the gods lived in their temples. Citizens would come to the temple to pray and make animal sacrifices.

FESTIVALS

Another way to pay tribute to the gods was by having a festival. They would have a party with games and a feast to honor a specific god or goddess.

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Recreation of a Roman temple at the Roman Vindolanda Fort & Museum in England.

SHRINES

Romans would make a shrine to a god in their home where they would pray or leave offerings.

GREEK INFLUENCE

Early Romans believed there were spirits in everything. Later, they adopted gods from different cultures and eventually worshiped thousands of gods and goddesses as part of their daily life. The Romans had a particular fondness for the

Greek gods. Some Greek gods names were kept the same, like Apollo, but more often they would slowly be merged with Roman gods and take on the Roman name. Roman gods even live on Mount Olympus, a mountain in Greece! Many Roman myths were similar to the Greek myths, only the gods had Roman names and there was more importance placed on Roman values like war, practicality and achievements.



ANCIENT ROMANS | GODS AND GODDESSES

JUPITER

JUNO

MERCURY

Greek Name

Zeus

Role

God of sky & thunder King of the gods

Patron god of Rome

Symbol

Thunderbolt

Special Powers

Throwing thunder Shapeshifting

Namesake

Planet Jupiter

Fun Fact

Rode a flying horse called Pegasus.

Myth

The queen of a bee hive complained to Jupiter that humans were stealing her honey and asked him for a way to protect the honey. Jupiter granted her wish and gave all the bees a stinger but told the queen that if any bee used their stinger, they would die. To this day, many bees drop dead if

they sting someone.

Greek Name

Hera

Role

Queen of the gods Protector of women Goddess of marriage Patron goddess of Rome

Family

Wife (and sister) to Jupiter

Sacred Animal

Peacock

Namesake

Month of June

Fun Fact

Juno was celebrated by the married women of Rome every

March 1st.

Myth

Unfortunately, Jupiter was not a very faithful husband, and this made Juno angry. She found out that Jupiter had a baby, named Hercules, with a mistress. In a fit of jealousy, she sent snakes to the baby's crib. Hercules was so strong, that even as a baby

he strangled the snakes and survived Juno's wrath.

Greek Name

Hermes

Role

Messenger of the gods

Family

Son of Jupiter

Symbol

Winged helmet and winged sandals

Special Powers

Could fly fast

Namesake

Planet Mercury and the element mercury

Myth

Mercury once stole a herd of cattle, but his deed was witnessed by a slave. He told the slave that if anyone asked, he was to say he saw nothing. Later, Mercury returned in disguise and asked the slave where the cattle were. The slave told him everything so Mercury went ahead and turned him to

stone!

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ANCIENT ROMANS | GODS AND GODDESSES

MINERVA

Greek Name

Athena

Role

Goddess of wisdom Patron of arts, trade and

strategy

Family

Daughter of Jupiter

Sacred Animal

Owl

Fun Fact

Minerva was born from Jupiter's head.

Myth

Minerva's dad, Jupiter, swallowed her mother, Metis while she was pregnant. Metis

went ahead and had her baby. One day Jupiter had a headache and Vulcan tried splitting his head open with an ax to relieve it. Out popped

Minerva, fully grown.

NEPTUNE

Greek Name

Poseidon

Role

God of sea and fresh water

Family

Brother of Jupiter

Symbol

Trident

Namesake

Planet Neptune

Fun Fact

Neptune was moody and unpredictable, much like the

sea.

Myth

Neptune fancied a sea goddess named Salacia but she ran away and hid from him. Neptune was determined, so he asked the dolphin king to find her. It took a long time, but eventually the dolphin king found Salacia and persuaded her to marry Neptune. The sea god was so pleased, he made a constellation in the shape of the

dolphin king.

VENUS

Greek Name

Aphrodite

Role

Goddess of love Patron of women

Family

Wife of Vulcan

Symbol

Roses, myrtle, pearls

Namesake

Planet Venus

Fun Fact

Venus had a golden carriage pulled by doves. Also, she was

born from sea foam.

Myth

A shepherd named Paris was tasked with deciding which goddess would get a golden apple inscribed with the words 'For the Fairest.' Juno bribed him with wealth and power.

Minerva bribed him with wisdom. Venus bribed him with marriage to the most beautiful woman, Helen. Paris chose to marry Helen, and took her to Troy where she became known

as Helen of Troy.

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AN-

CIENT ROMANS | GODS AND GODDESSES

MARS

Greek Name

Ares

Role

God of war Founder of Rome Patron of soldiers

Family

Son of Jupiter and Juno

Symbol

The Ancile (a sacred shield)

Namesake

Planet Mars and month of March

Fun Fact

Mars was tall and handsome, but he was vain and the other

gods didn't like him much.

Myth

Mars had a crush on Minerva but she rejected him, so he asked Anna Perenna, an old goddess, to help him. Anna thought Mars was handsome. She agreed to help, but instead of getting Mars and Minerva together, she put on a veil and pretended to be Minerva. Mars was fooled and married Anna.

DIANA

Greek Name

Artemis

Role

Goddess of the hunt

Family

Jupiter's daughter and Apollo's twin

Symbol

Bow and Arrow

Fun Fact

Diana brought out the moon each night.

Myth

Diana loved the huntsman named Orion, but her twin brother, Apollo, did not approve. Apollo thought up a plan. He challenged his sister to an archery contest, to see who could hit a black dot floating in the water. Diana fired an arrow and to her glee she hit the target, but Apollo had tricked her. The black dot was Orion's head. Diana was crushed and asked Jupiter to put a constellation in the sky to honor

Orion.

PLUTO

Greek Name

Hades

Role

God of the underworld

Family

Jupiter's brother

Symbol

Helmet of invisibility

Special Powers

Invisibility

Namesake

Planet Pluto

Fun Fact

Romans were afraid to say Pluto's name in case it attracted his attention.

Myth

A soldier died and went to the underworld, but he missed his wife terribly. He went to Pluto and asked to be return to the land of the living. Pluto denied

his request but Pluto's wife Proserpina was moved by the soldier's story, so Pluto granted him one last day with his wife.

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